February 15 – “The Holy Grail of …”

Ah, Valentine’s Day.  It didn’t go unforgotten in this household.  A little quirky, perhaps, but remembered nonetheless.  When Chris awoke she found a little stuffed monkey in her chair, reminiscent of the much larger monkey perched in the office chair nearby.  And the little guy was holding in his arms … no, not a heart.  No, not a box of candies.  No, not a piece of jewelry.  No.  Not this little guy.  He had his arms wrapped around … a jar of sweet pickles.  Now that is some classic romance there. 

Well, OK.  There is a bit of a backstory.  Chris has been looking for some sweet pickles every time we have been grocery shopping for weeks now, and WalMart simply has not had them.  The other day, when she was not feeling well and I went to pick up some groceries, what should I stumble upon but the Holy Grail of Pickledom.  Sweet pickles.  Of course I had to get some.  But I also had to hide them and wait for the perfect moment to spring them upon her.  It worked.  She was happy.  Now I must hasten to add that the second half of her gift came later.  I had to perform a wedding at high noon, so I stopped on the way home and got her some yellow roses.  Beautiful creations, those. 

Speaking of the wedding, it was held on the beach out near the church.  In 45 degree weather.  With a pretty strong wind.  It was just me and the bride and groom and their beautiful German shepherd named Dallas.  The groom was wearing a full on tux with white tie and cummerbund.  The bride was in a short-sleeved dress.  It was very pretty, but she was freezing.  She refused to put on her sweater, though.  Needless to say, I cut the service to a bare minimum.

So back to the Valentine’s Day festivities … Chris has a special treat for me as well.  She made me some chicken enchilada pie, my favorite casserole.  I’ll even eat leftovers.  She also snuck in a homemade apple pie.  Wow.  Now that’s an awesome meal.  I would even go so far as to say it was … sweet pickle-worthy.

Jeremiah 17:7 says, “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”

Father, thank you for the incredibly sweet and patient lady you gifted me with as a wife.  Grant her a pain-free day or forty.  Amen.